After Burn
by NotYetLostFaith
Summary: Rick is a fireman. His wife left him a year earlier, took his twelve year old daughter with her. Kate is a homicide detective. Young but savvy, knows what she's talking about. One day, Rick goes into a house fire and something goes very wrong and Kate and her team are called in to investigate.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:Yup, yet another story from me :D The working title for this was literally Fireman Rick, and was until about three hours ago. This story wouldn't have been possible without the help of the wonderful theputz913 who has been editing this for me and making sure it all made sense. Thank you my lovely :)

I hope you enjoy this story. Let me know what you think. NYLF. xx

* * *

"Hey, Ricky! Are you gonna be joining us any time soon?" Rick waved a dismissive hand in his partner's direction not even bothering to turn away from his phone.

"Pumpkin I gotta go alright? But I'll speak to you later okay? We'll go over that math homework when you're finished with it."

Rick's eleven year old sighed. "Okay dad. Stay safe okay?"

"I always am Alexis." He promised softly before hanging up the phone and pocketing it. He jogged back to his partner's side. "Sorry Buzz, it was Lexi. I had to answer."

"I know." Buzz replied knowingly. "I just thought you'd wanna get this finished before…" he was interrupted by the buzzer, followed by the radio telling them the address of the house fire they had to tackle. "Too late. Okay ladies, duty calls."

"To infinity and beyond." Ricky yelled, right hand fisted and extended before he ducked, laughing along with the rest of their team, narrowly avoiding the pen his partner threw at him.

* * *

While Buzz talked to first on scene, Rick suited up, making sure the tri-colour cotton friendship bracelet his daughter had made for him stayed safely inside before putting on his gloves just as Buzz came back over.

"Okay Ricky, it'll be a tough one. There's a woman trapped on the second floor, third door on the left. She's on the phone to us still, so she's fine but she won't be for long. We gotta get her out of there fast Ricky or this'll become a recovery not a rescue."

Rick nodded quickly. "Gotcha."

Both men slipped on their protective face shields and O2 masks before giving each other the okay sign. With one final nod to their chief, they went into the flames.

* * *

Only once Rick had carried the young woman- a wee slip of a girl really, her girlish features and 'Little Miss Sunshine' pyjamas telling of a girl perhaps not yet even out of her teens- to safety, did he look behind him for his partner, his stomach dropping when he noticed he wasn't behind him.

"Hey, medic?" Rick called once he'd lifted his mask, motioning to the paramedics on scene. "Take her." He ordered trying to hand the girl over to the other man but she wouldn't let go of him.

Rick gently cupped the side of her face with his hand, dwarfing the girl. "Sweetie, I know you're scared, alright? I know. But my partner is still inside and he needs me. You're safe now and I'll come back to you okay? But you gotta let me help my partner."

The girl hesitated for precious seconds before nodding and relaxing her hand. Rick leaned in and kissed her forehead before securing his mask once more and running back towards the building, ignoring the shouts of his chief saying it was too dangerous and that Buzz was probably already gone.

* * *

"Buzz!" Rick screamed as he fought his way through the inferno, trying to keep his breathing steady-in order to not put too much pressure on his tank- but fear for his partner was making that near on impossible. "Buzz! Answer me you idiot!"

Rick stopped for just long enough to take a deep breath, calming his heartbeat enough to remain professional, he was no good to Buzz if he was on the verge of hyperventilation.

"Buzz?!" Rick called steadily. "If you can hear me buddy, I need you to make a sound, or throw something, or do something to let me know where you are."

He stood deathly still for a few heartbeats, waiting to see if he could hear anything over his own heartbeat and the crackling of the flames as they consumed the building.

* * *

Rick was on the verge of losing hope when he spotted Buzz's foot.

"Buzz!" He screamed, flinging himself across the room. He caught hold of his partner's foot and held on with one hand, while the other cleared the debris from his chest. He barely took the moment to assess that he wasn't breathing before pulling him up and flinging him over his shoulder.

"It's okay Buzz, gonna get you outta here!" Rick fought the flames once more as he made a hasty escaped through the front door, yelling for a medic the moment they were clear.

His team fought the blaze while paramedics fought for Buzz's life.

Only one succeeded with their task.

The fire went out.

* * *

Detective, for just shy of six months, Kate Beckett and her team pulled up at the scene and got out of their cars before the full force of the devastation hit them. The once white picketed fence family home was barely standing. The roof had completely collapsed, the front wall had half fallen into the front yard and the entire building was burned a thick deadly black.

It was like something out of a horror film.

The ambulance was gone, had taken the girl to hospital, but surrounding the area it had stood were the left over packaging from at least twenty bandages and gauze. Kate had asked to be kept in the loop as far as the girls condition went, knew that her legs were pretty badly burned but not nearly as bad as they could have been if it wasn't for Richard Castle, the fire-fighter that saved her.

"Hey Beckett?" Ryan asked quietly.

Kate turned to him before following his eye line to find the fire-fighter sat on the edge of the table from the action centre, now only wearing his shirt, trousers and suspenders, his jacket and gear slung beside him as if he couldn't get rid of it fast enough. His head was hanging, his eyes drawn to the body laying just a few feet from him, their victim, the reason they were here.

The medic had found a cut in the O2 line, thus concluding that his death was foul play, had called the police in.

Kate nodded to her partner before making her way over to the man who looked like his whole world had just come down.

"Sir?" Kate asked as she stepped up. She knew better than to make someone in an emotionally volatile state jump.

The man looked up at her slowly, his eyes tracing her figure from her four inch heels to her face, never lingering too long. She had a feeling it was less sexual and more that he hadn't the energy or drive left to look up energetically.

"Can I help you, Miss?" He asked politely despite the absolute desolation colouring his tone. Beckett opened her mouth to reply but he shook his head and stood, holding his hand out in front of him, both of them ignoring the prominent tremor. "Please excuse me, Richard Castle FDNY."

Kate smiled softly, taking his hand in hers and shaking it. "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD." She smiled slightly as he automatically straightened his spine before he dropped her hand.

"You're here for Buzz, right?"

Kate's brow furrowed in confusion. "Tobias Story, yes?"

Rick smiled, shaking his head. "You almost forget he had a real name." He murmured to himself. "Yeah, Tobias Story." He shook his head, clearing his throat before looking back up to her, pain written in every crease of his face. "You'll uh, he's uh," he shook his head, his voice breaking.

Kate looked away, giving him a moment.

"You'll look after him right? I mean, I know he's just another body to you but, he's my partner y'know, my brother." Rick forced out.

Kate laid her hand on his bicep gently. "Mr Castle, no one is just 'another body' to me, I can assure you. I will take the utmost care, I promise."

Rick watched her for a second, apparently assessing her sincerity. He seemed to find what he was looking for when he nodded. "I've gotta call my kid." He excused himself, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"Of course." Kate nodded sympathetically. "We'll need to be in touch, you were the one who pulled him out, went in with him?"

Rick nodded. "Chief'll give you my number. I'm not meaning to be rude Detective but…"

Kate shook her head, absolving him. "Call your child, Mr Castle. I'll keep you informed." She smiled gently, prompting a nod from the fire-fighter before he left her to it, stooping to collect his gear before making his way back from the scene to call his daughter while Kate got to work.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey dad, I haven't finished yet." Alexis answered after the third ring and Rick could have cried with relief.

"I know baby." He replied a little thickly, fighting valiantly to maintain his composure.

"Daddy?" Alexis asked, suddenly five years younger than her years. "What's happened? Are you okay?"

Rick shook his head, covering his eyes with his hand as he breathed deeply. "I'm fine, my little pumpkin. But uh, jeeze I shouldn't tell you this over the phone." He muttered to himself.

"Daddy please, just tell me." His daughter begged. He hated to do this so impersonally but he wouldn't see her for another week and a half and she was in California and Buzz was as good as family.

"Buzz didn't make it honey." He murmured softly. His heart broke as he heard his baby girl cry over the line. Rick longed to hold her but he couldn't for another eleven days and that thought was the final straw for him. Rick found himself sat on the floor, his back against the fire truck, crying as quietly as he could so as not to alarm his precious innocent daughter. "Lexi, where's your mom?"

"She's, she's working daddy. I'm at Tasha's house but, daddy..." She keened.

Rick bolstered his courage, begging some divine being to give him the strength to get this sentence out steadily. "I need you to go find Karen, okay honey? Go find Tasha's mom and let her hug you baby girl because I can't and it's breaking my heart." He listened as Alexis stood up and ran down the hall before she collided with Karen.

"Hello?" Karen asked worriedly once she'd taken the phone from the distraught child in her arms. "Is everything okay with Rick?"

"I'm fine Karen." He promised her quietly. "Buddy of ours wasn't so lucky." He explained succinctly.

"I'll take care of her until Meredith gets home." She promised gently, ending the call once Rick had thanked her.

* * *

Rick watched the people work while he fought to get back to himself.

The two male detectives had disappeared in the time it had taken him to call his daughter, but the female, Detective Beckett, she was crouched beside Buzz, talking to the black woman who had to be the medical examiner.

The doctor was pretty- they both were; there was no denying it- but something about the detective intrigued him.

Before he knew what he was doing, Rick found himself on his feet, walking towards the pair.

* * *

The doctor nodded subtly in his direction, alerting Detective Beckett to his presence and he could only watch as she rose gracefully from her haunches and turned to face him.

"How is your daughter, Mr Castle?" She asked kindly.

Rick shrugged. "As good as to be expected, I guess. Buzz was her godfather, they were family. This is gonna cut her deep."

Kate smiled sympathetically. "How old is she? If you don't mind me asking?"

Rick shook his head. "Don't mind. She's just turned eleven."

Kate smiled beautifully. "Good age. I'm sure she makes you and her mother very proud."

The firefighter smirked at how careful she was to not mention his marital status to said mother. "Makes me proud every day. Would make her mother proud if she actually paid her any attention."

Kate's smiled tightened. "Was there something you needed?" She asked gently, not dismissing him but needing to get this back on track all the same.

"No, just, I'd like to be there, if I can? When you tell Carol and the boys. Might be good for her to have a friendly face."

Kate nodded. "That may be a good idea. Would you have contact details for her? It would make the process a little quicker."

Rick retrieved his phone from his pocket and gave her the house number and Carol's mobile number, as well as their address and his own details.

"Thank you Mr Castle, I will be sure to call you, to keep you informed of the progress and so you can be there to support the family."

Rick smiled sadly. "She's like a sister to me, Detective. Anything I can do to soften the blow."

She nodded and watched as he walked away from her before turning back to Lanie.

"He's a sweet guy. From what I've seen of him, it seems impossible for him to have been our suspect."

Lanie shrugged. "You know better than I do, girl, that you've gotta investigate him anyway."

Kate sighed. "I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it though."

* * *

Rick's phone rang an hour later, startling him from his daze, staring at Buzz's locker door, the pictures inside that depicted his boys growing up, him holding Alexis on that first day, Carol's and his wedding photo where Rick himself had stood proudly as best man. He reached into his pocket and took his phone, bringing it to his ear just before the last ring.

"Rick Castle." He answered his tone flat and despondent.

"Mr Castle? This is Detective Kate Beckett, we met earlier?" The young detective's voice filtered slowly through the fog of depression in his brain.

"What can I do for you, Detective?" He asked, finally dropping his eyes to the ground, away from his best friend's smiling face.

"I was wondering if you were able to come into the 12th precinct. I'd like to talk to you, if I may? Have you run down the details of what happened in your own words?"

Rick ran his hand down his face, only then noticing how much it still shook. "Uh, sure. What, what about Carol, and the boys?"

He heard Kate clear her throat, could almost feel the pain she was feeling for a family she had never met. "They're on their way in. Apparently they are headed back into town, something about staying with a sister?"

"Yeah. Carol's little sister just had a baby. Buzz was meant to go up and meet them, was all set to go up tomorrow, but…" he trailed off. "He was so excited to see her."

"I'm so sorry, Mr Castle." Kate murmured genuinely.

"Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can Detective." Rick ended the call with a sigh, unaware of the fact he was mimicked by the detective as she leaned back in her desk chair, trying to bury the tears she could feel building in her throat at the pain she had heard in his voice.


	3. Chapter 3

Rick was met at the elevator by the young female detective, who smiled and nodded at his uniformed escort, before turning to him.

"Thank you for coming in, Mr Castle. I know how hard this time must be for you, and I am well aware that this is probably the last thing you want to do right now, so I really do appreciate it." She spoke as she led him towards a conference room before letting them inside and offering him a seat with a motion of her open palm. "Can I get you something to drink? Water, coffee, soda?"

Rick shook his head. "Thanks, but I'd rather just get this over with."

Kate nodded, taking her seat opposite him with a soft smile. "Of course." She smoothed her hands down her thighs before folding them in her lap. It looked almost as if she was nervous and that did nothing to calm Rick. "I'd just like to start by saying that we can take a break at any time, I know how hard this can be and I don't want you to feel like this has to be a professional debrief. If it gets too much and you need a moment, I am more than happy to give you it."

"Thanks." Rick nodded, appreciating her concern but still not sure why _she _was nervous. "Where do you want me to start?"

Kate smiled softly, leaning forward almost unconsciously. "How about we start when you got the call about the fire?"

Rick took a deep breath before nodding. "I uh, I'm not good with sitting still, you mind if I stand for this bit?"

Kate shook her head.

"Thanks." He nodded, standing and rounding the couch he'd been sat on to lean his hands against the back. "Buzz wanted to get out of the game. He said that with the boys getting older he had realised how much he had missed and wanted to be there for them, so we were going through who would become my new partner. We got the call before we finished, and set out to the house. We arrived and talked strategies, before getting our O2 masks on, and going in. There was a girl trapped on the second floor, so we had to rescue her. As always, Buzz checked the ground floor for anyone else and, if we could find it, point of origin, while I went upstairs. I located the girl's room and kicked in the door, before picking her up off the bed and carrying her back down the stairs and out the door. I tried to give her to the paramedics but she, she just wouldn't let go." Rick took a deep breath. "She was so young. Buzz called her a woman but she was a teenager at eldest."

"She's fifteen." Kate interjected softly. His eyes snapped to hers and she knew she was right in her interruption.

"She okay?"

Kate shrugged. "She's in hospital, her parents are with her. She has mild smoke inhalation and second degree burns on her legs, first on her hands and face. She'll recover quickly and should be fine." Kate watched as his entire body relaxed a few notches. "You saved her life."

"It's my job." He dismissed before shaking his head to get himself back. "Once I handed her over, I realised Buzz wasn't behind me. Chief said he was probably already gone, but I had to go back for him. He's family, my partner. You don't just…" he trailed off but Kate nodded.

She'd been in similar situations, knew the bond between partners intimately.

"I found him, not breathing, and carried him out. Paramedics tried and failed to get his heart started again." Rick shook his head and ran his hands down his face for a moment before sighing deeply. He was trained to give hard information formally and professionally, it was in his blood by now, but he had the feeling Beckett wouldn't judge him if he broke down a little. After all, given her job, she had more than likely seen worse.

"So, the paramedic who took Sarah from you and your chief, they both saw you exit the house and your chief told you that Mr Story was probably already dead, yes?"

Rick's eyes narrowed suspiciously and Kate knew she hadn't been as subtle as she had hoped to be.

"Yeah." He replied at length. "Why?" There was a sharpness to his voice that Kate took as a warning, the last one she thought she'd get before this went somewhere she would rather keep it from going.

"Just because, you were, after all, the last person, in theory, to see Mr Story alive and…"

"Just who in the hell do you think you are!?" Rick raged, his emotions having taken too much of a beating for him to now contain them.

Kate's spine stiffened, desperate to keep control of this conversation. "I am the lead detective investigating this case." She reminded him, calm if not a little sharp.

"And he was my brother." Rick yelled back, pointing away from him as if to lead her sight to the body. "How _dare _you accuse me of doing this?! You know nothing about me detective, I understand that, but how could you ever even _think_ I was _capable_ of this? Of killing my brother? My daughter's _godfather_? How in the _hell_ can you jump to _that_ conclusion?"

"I have to cover every angle Mr Castle, it's the only way we will find who killed your friend."

"Don't patronise me Detective." He spat. "Let me tell you something okay? Just over a year ago, I found my wife in bed with her director. Literally, found them in bed together. My daughter had just turned ten and was upstairs at the time. Meredith ranted and raved about how it was actually all _my_ fault because I was never there. I blamed myself for breaking up my marriage, my daughter's family, and got blinding drunk. I woke up three days later, in a hospital bed. I'd wrapped my car around a tree and broken my spine in two places."

Kate gasped softly.

"Buzz had collected Alexis and taken her back to his, held her while she cried about my stupid actions and her mother's infidelity. He then took me in while I healed. When Meredith served me divorce papers, and said that my drunken crash gave her grounds to fight me for custody, it was Buzz that kept me sober and let me cry on his shoulder. It was Buzz who supported me through my custody battle. It was Buzz who held Alexis when she screamed about wanting to stay with me rather than going to Cali with her mom. And it was Buzz who convinced Meredith to let me see my daughter every other weekend; so don't you _dare_ ask me for my alibi. He was dead when I found him. He was the only thing that kept me together when I would have killed myself, and destroyed my daughter, with my self-destructive behaviour and he means the world to the little girl who means the world to me. Think about that Detective, before you go accusing me of _murdering_ him."

Rick stormed out of the room and didn't stop until he reached the middle of the stairwell.

He needed a moment to cool down if he was gonna support Carol and the boys when they got here.

Kate leaned back in her seat and put her head in her hands. That wasn't what she had meant to happen at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Kate took long enough to make two cups of coffee before going to find the fire-fighter.

She'd watched him long enough to know he took the stairs, had had the forethought to call the front desk so she knew he hadn't left the building, which meant he could really only be in one of four stairwells; had he wandered onto any other floor, Kate would have heard about it by now.

She nudged open the stairwell door with her hip, careful not to spill the precariously full mugs in her hands, and held it with her back as she turned into the cramped, dimly lit space. Only after she had let the door close behind her did she look over and spot Rick, sat leaning against the wall, his left leg bent on the step he was sitting while his right rested on the step below, his hands folded in his lap.

"I, uh, I brought coffee?" Kate shrugged, gaining his attention despite the uncertainty in her voice.

"You should get better lights." Rick replied, still not looking up from the opposite wall. "Tripping hazard, fire hazard, health and safety violation," he listed flatly. "I could go on."

Kate sighed. "You'd have to take it up with maintenance. It's not really my job." She finished with a shrug of her shoulder, still stood just inside the doorway, having not moved. "Besides, no one really uses the stairs."

Rick gave her a half nod. "You gonna stand there all day?" He asked quietly.

Kate shrugged again. "I, I got the feeling I wasn't welcome to join you." She told him honestly.

Rick lifted his shoulder non-committally. "Your stairs more than they are mine."

Kate hesitated for a moment longer before stepping down until she could mimic his position on the stair above him, her left foot resting just in front of his right while her own right foot got tucked up against her while she placed his coffee near his shoulder. "I made it black, wasn't really sure how you took it."

Rick reached for it before taking a grateful sip. "It's good." He assured her causing Kate to relax just slightly despite her not knowing why she was suddenly seeking his approval. "Usually take it like this at work anyway."

Kate nodded slowly, sipping her own drink. "I'm sorry, if that helps." She murmured after a moment, cradling her mug into her chest.

"For?" He asked, not letting her off the hook, not entirely convinced she knew what she was apologising for, or if she needed to.

"There were better ways to go about that conversation." She granted him, staring at the wall in much the same way he was. "I, I should have just told you I was sorry to ask, but had to, and then upfront asked for your alibi. I shouldn't have tried to hide it. For that I apologise."

"You were doing your job, Detective." He sighed.

"Yes, but you'd think I'd be better at this part by now. I've done hundreds of interviews like that at this point. And I should have done my research better, should have taken into account how close the two of you were."

"I overreacted." Rick shook his head. "You were only doing your job and I shouldn't have gone off at you like that. You were doing me a favour by letting me be there for the notification and I was rude. I only hope you can forgive me for that."

"You're grieving, Mr Castle." She reminded him softly. "You don't need to apologise for reacting rather than thinking. He was practically family, I see that now, and you never have to apologise for needing time to grieve. Especially to me." Kate shrugged.

"Rick." He murmured softly, still not looking at her.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, a little startled as he brought her back from a spiral of memories she was unwilling to let consume her.

"You keep calling me 'Mr Castle'. No one calls me 'Mr Castle'. So, Rick, if you wanna?"

Kate smiled softly. "Everyone here calls me Beckett. It's, a cop thing I guess. No one really calls me Kate."

"So all your friends, your family, your boyfriend, they call you Beckett?" He asked incredulously, watching her face for the first time since she'd come to find him.

Kate chuckled. "My dad calls me Katie. I don't really have many friends outside of this building. No boyfriend either." She told him, a little shyly.

"Girlfriend then? Maybe I should have said partner. Only there isn't a ring on your finger so I'm presuming not engaged or married, unless you don't wear them for work?"

Kate chuckled again, dipping her head softly. "Not married, or engaged and I identify as straight so no girlfriend either. Just, me."

Rick realised he was gawping and quickly closed his mouth.

"What?" Kate asked, tucking her hair behind her ear self-consciously.

"No, nothing just, not what I was expecting."

Kate nodded slowly before looking back at her cup. "I just thought I'd come and check you were okay. And to apologise for how I went about it up there. I should have been straight with you."

"You've said that." Rick reminded her gently, making her nod again.

"Yes, well. If it offers you any comfort, I was only asking because I have to for the paperwork. I, I don't think your capable of such a thing, personally. Especially to someone so close to you."

Rick smiled at her and Kate felt her cheeks heating with a completely unnecessary blush.

"Thank you, that means a lot, Kate."

"I thought I told you to call me Beckett?" She reminded him shyly, not at all annoyed by her name coming from him. Flustered perhaps, but not annoyed.

"You also said you didn't have many friends outside the building. Maybe when all this is over and you find Buzz's true killer, I could change that."

Kate shook her head with a smile. "Asking to be my friend? Isn't that a little juvenile?"

Rick shrugged. "Maybe, but I'd like to ask all the same."

Kate nodded. "Then, maybe I'd accept." She smiled infectiously. "But, I've gotta get back, prepare myself and the room for when Mr Story's family arrives. You'll join me? When you're ready?"

Rick nodded. "Right behind you, Kate."


	5. Chapter 5

Rick exited the stairwell just in time to hear the elevator arrive on the homicide floor. Rick felt his heart constrict when he saw Carol and the boys, the two children laughing and joking around. Kate was about to tear their world apart and they didn't even know it yet. He sighed deeply before going over to greet them.

"Carol?" He started softly, not wanting to make her jump.

"Rick, what are you doing here? Where's Toby? A detective called and asked me to come in, in regards to my husband. Rick, what's going on?"

"How about you come join the detective in the conference room and we'll talk about this." He tried to persuade her before she gripped his forearm to stop him moving.

"Rick look at me." Her tone left no room for argument. Still, Rick didn't move. "Richard Castle you look me in the eye right now."

Rick sighed deeply before slowly lifting his eyes to meet those of his best friend's wife, of his pseudo sister, and he knew she could see it. He banded his arm around her waist, holding her into his chest as her knees gave out and she screamed.

"Shh, Carol, it's, it'll all be okay darlin'." Rick soothed, holding her close, trying not to look at his surrogate nephews.

Kate, having heard the young woman's scream, had rushed from the conference room but paused in the doorway at the sight before her. She took a deep breath, steeling herself, before going over to help Rick.

"Mrs Story?" She asked softly, flickering her eyes to find Rick's. He shook his head at her and she nodded, understanding that she wouldn't get a coherent sound from the distraught woman currently sobbing in the fire-fighter's arms.

Kate took a breath before turning to the two boys stood just behind their mother. "Hey guys." She addressed them softly, gaining only the elder one's attention, the younger's gaze firmly fixed on his mother. "My name's Detective Kate Beckett, what's yours?"

The teenager looked quickly to his mom before turning his attention back to her. "My name's Andy, Well, Andrew, but everyone calls me Andy." He informed her quietly. "My brother's called Dillan. What's wrong with my mom? Where's my dad? Why is Uncle Rick here?"

Kate sighed silently, gently gripping the boy's shoulder. "You think you can take Dillan and go sit in that room for me?" She asked, pointing to the conference room. "I'll be there in just a second with your mom and Uncle Rick and then I'll try and answer your questions, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Andy nodded quickly, tapping his brother's shoulder and leading him away from the group.

Kate quickly stepped into Rick's side. "Mrs Story, my name is Detective Kate Beckett. Why don't you come with me and we'll get you sat down and Rick and I will explain."

Carol sniffed, pulling away from Rick slowly. "How'd it happen?" She asked quietly.

Kate shook her head. "We shouldn't have this discussion in the middle of the precinct ma'am. Let's go somewhere a little more private hmm?"

Carol nodded and Rick shot the detective a quick smile before leading the still crying woman away with his arm around her waist. Kate took a moment, just a moment, before following.

* * *

Kate stood in the break room nearly half an hour later, her elbows locked as she leaned over the sink, trying to breathe normally. Rick was seeing Carol out before coming back to sign his statement.

Breaking that poor woman's heart had been one of the hardest things Kate had done in her career.

Rick had been so amazing, had even dragged Dillan into his lap when the boy's sobs threatened to topple him from his chair. Kate had found out that the boys were only seven and thirteen, too young to lose a parent, far too young. But Rick, he had simply held those boys, even corralling Andy into a hug despite his insistence that he was okay, had to be strong now, had to be the man of the house.

Rick had excused himself and the boy and had taken him in to the break room for a moment, mid-interview, while Carol and Dillan had stayed with Kate, still talking about anyone who may have wanted to harm Toby. Kate's heart had shattered when she heard Andy's sobbing despite the two closed doors between them.

"Carol wouldn't hear of me taking them home so I put them in a cab." Rick's voice made Kate jump, her entire body jolting as she jumped back from the sink. "Hey, you alright?" He asked gently, holding his hand out as he took a step towards her, like he was going to take her hand and god did Kate wish she could let him do it.

"Fine." She murmured, her voice trembling even to her own ears. "Cab, you say? Good. I'll get you outta here as quick as I can so you can go help." She rambled as she tried to walk past him.

"Kate?" He asked softly, gently catching her elbow as she passed him. He felt her whole body go limp the moment his skin made contact with hers.

She fell forward into his chest and Rick quickly wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her to him while the other shut the door behind them, giving her the privacy he knew she'd appreciate for this. By the time his other hand came up to cup the back of her head, her body was shaking.

He had no idea what this was about but his mother had raised him better than to ask the woman trembling in his arms why she was so affected by the murder of a man she'd never met. So he held her, waiting for tears that never came. She pulled away a moment later, turning away from him quickly, busying herself making coffee for them both, trying desperately to stop her hands from shaking.

"Kate?" Rick asked oh so gently. "You wanna talk about what just happened?"

Kate shook her head. "Sorry. That was unprofessional of me. You have enough to deal with, without me adding to it by falling apart. Coffee?" She asked quickly, handing him the cup before taking her own and practically running to her desk.

Rick sighed gently, giving her a moment before following her.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate read, and re-read, Rick's statement while he pretended not to be watching her. He was worried about the, apparently fragile, young woman who was running his best friend's case. Not professionally, no, he trusted her to do her job, but on a personal level, he was concerned. Concerned only further the closer he looked.

She was skilled with a make-up brush, he'd give her that, but she was covering circles too dark beneath her eyes for her concealer to mask, despite its valiant effort. And the way she was practically clinging to her coffee mug with the hand not tracing the words on the page in front of her screamed of a caffeine dependency. Even the way her eyes darted unevenly across the page, as if she had to go back and re-read what she had just finished every so often told him she wasn't getting enough sleep.

Given that Buzz had been pronounced dead only this morning, there was no way it was this case keeping her up, meaning something was keeping her from getting the sleep she needed and he'd be lying if he said it didn't worry him.

"Okay Mr Castle, if you'll just read the statement as written, and confirm that you agree with it by signing your name at the bottom, we can get you out of here. I'm sure Mrs Story needs your support more than I need you hanging around my precinct." She shot him a small smile, never quite reaching his eyes with her own, before turning back to her computer even as she laid her pen next to his hand.

Rick frowned as his eyes traced her features slowly for a moment more before dropping his eyes to the page to read his statement. Just seconds later, he picked up the pen, still warm from her hand, and signed his name with a flourish.

"That was quick." Kate commented almost involuntarily, gaining a smile from the fire-fighter.

"Speed reader. Always have been." He gave her a dazzling, boyish smile that would be enough to weaken her knees had she been standing, before handing back her pen. "You'll keep me informed?" He half asked.

Kate gave him a tiny smile. "As much as is appropriate." She reminded him softly. "I will certainly inform you of the outcome once it is sealed but, given that it is an active case within which you are involved, there will be very little I can actually tell you."

Rick nodded. "I understand Detective." He took his jacket from where he had slung it over the back of the chair he was seated in and stood before leaning against her desk, waiting for her to look back up at him before he continued. "Once this is all over, and you have the scumbag who did this, how about we go for coffee? We could start correcting your lack of friends?"

Kate felt her cheeks warm up as she blushed slightly. "This could take a few days." She warned him, a little taken aback by his nod.

"I know." He nodded, nothing but acceptance in his eyes. "But after that, coffee?"

Kate lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. "Can we leave it at 'we'll see' for now?"

"Provided you're cautious because you don't know how long it will take or what the outcome will be and not because you aren't yet sure if you're going to come if circumstances allow."

Kate smiled a little guiltily. "Fine. Sure. But, it's kind of a frowned upon practice, fraternising with witnesses slash suspects so, until the case is over, I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it?"

Rick nodded. "I can do that. See you soon Kate." He smiled at her again before making his way to the elevator, leaving a very warm detective as she blushed in her seat. That smile could convince her to do a lot of things and a man who knew how to use it, was a dangerous being indeed.

* * *

It was four days before Rick heard from Kate again. And it wasn't like he'd been sitting by the phone, waiting for her call. He'd been helping Carol plan a funeral, helping the boys deal with their grief and he'd gone back to work as well. Which is where he was, talking quietly with a couple of the guys from his team about memorials when in walked Kate Beckett.

She was stunning, as always, but there was a hardness about her that made him think she wasn't there for a friendly chat, the two men flanking her only solidified that for him in his mind.

She halted just inside the doorway as she scanned the room. Her eyes swept across him before she seemed to startle and snap her attention back to meet his eyes.

There was a look he couldn't decipher before she turned to say something to her team. They nodded and went off in one direction before Kate went in the other, headed straight for him.

"Mr Castle, I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon." She sounded so cold, so professional, it shocked him. The two guys beside him, Jones and Delaney, both took a hasty step back.

"Good luck." Delaney whispered.

"Yeah, better you than me." Jones added, both of them earning a swipe from Rick.

"Shut up, you've both got better things to do than hang around gormlessly." They both chuckled before running away like school boys. "Sorry, their good guys really. Not very often we get the cops in here."

Kate nodded distractedly.

"Why are you here? I thought you cleared me?"

"Oh, we did." Kate replied hurriedly. "Don't worry about that, you were witnessed and they corroborate your story, we aren't here for you." She assured him quickly.

"So, who are you here for?" He had barely finished his sentence before he heard his chief's voice ring out across the floor even as everyone else present dropped into absolute silence.

"You have no proof I did this! You'll never prove it!"

Rick looked to Kate in shock only to find her staring down at her hands awkwardly.

"Kate?" He whispered. She didn't even look up. "The chief? Really?"

"Boss?" Delaney's voice rung out as Esposito and Ryan dragged the chief out and into their car. "Boss the chief did this?"

Rick looked at his team, Delaney wasn't the only one who's face was a mask of shock. "I," he started ineffectively before noticing from the corner of his eye that Kate was leaving. "Give me a sec." He called to his team. "Kate?" He called as he ran after her, catching her bicep and pulling her to a stop. "Kate you've got this wrong. You have to have this wrong. How can you think the chief did this? He's like family to us."

"Rick." She pleaded. "Please, let me do my job." She gently laid her hand against his on her arm. "I have to follow the evidence, just, let me do my job okay?"

Rick nodded dumbly, slowly releasing her arm.

"I'll call you, okay? Give me a couple of days to tie a ribbon on this for the DA and then I'll give you a call, okay?"

"Sure." He nodded. "Just, the chief?"

Kate gave him a tiny, sad smile before following the boys out, leaving Rick and the team struck dumb.


	7. Chapter 7

After spending nearly five hours in the box with Chief Peter Karaway, Kate stepped away from interrogation and let uniforms take him back to holding.

"I need a break." She murmured as she strode past the boys' desks towards her own. "I'm gonna go get lunch, spend some time away from here. You guys okay if I do that?"

Both men nodded.

"Yeah Beckett, we've got it covered. Go enjoy the sunshine for a bit." Ryan smiled, gaining one back from his lead detective.

"Thanks guys. I have my phone." Flashing them one last smile, Kate grabbed her things and made her way out of the precinct.

She had barely gotten out of the door when someone grabbed her left hand. Her right immediately flew to her hip, her fingers closing around the trigger of her gun before she realised who it was now attached to her arm.

"Jesus Rick I could have _shot_ you!" She cried, garnering an odd look from the pedestrian walking past. "You should know better than to sneak up on someone who is carrying a weapon."

"I'm sorry, but Kate, you arrested my chief. You can't expect me not to have questions. How can you think he'd do something so heinous? He's known us for ten years! Buzz and him were tighter than brothers. How can you accuse him of this?"

Kate's head was spinning at the rate of his questions. "Rick, slow down jeez!" She shook her head, taking a deep breath before setting her expression. "I can't talk about it, it's an open investigation. It would be unprofessional, not to mention potentially damaging to our case."

"But Kate, he's my _chief! _You can't just _arrest_ him! You have to have _evidence!_"

Kate took his elbow and dragged him with her towards her car, opening the passenger door and slamming him into the seat before closing to door on his protests. She rounded the car at a jog and got in before pulling away from the curb at speed.

* * *

Rick sat stock still in his seat once he'd strapped his seatbelt in, watching her warily. "People know where I am you know. You can't just kill me and dump the body, people will know." He warned her in all seriousness, slightly affronted when she snorted.

"I'm not going to kill you Rick." She chuckled, her posture finally relaxing into something less terrifyingly poised. "I was serious about not being able to discuss open cases though. But I need a break from interrogation and it seemed rude to just leave you on the side walk, so we're going for lunch." She changed gear and pulled up at the red light before turning to him. "Oh, and for the record, never accuse me of arresting someone without evidence ever again. If I get as far as arresting someone, I have good reason too."

Rick nodded, shrinking back into his seat a little.

* * *

"So," Rick started, watching Kate as she smiled at the waitress once she'd placed their plates in front of them.

"You can ask Rick, that doesn't mean I'm gonna tell you." She smiled as she sipped her strawberry milkshake, fascinating the fire-fighter as he watched her posture relax and her face brighten as the flavour burst across her tongue.

"You said you had evidence." He worked through it slowly in his own head, thinking out loud.

Kate nodded, not yet releasing the straw from between her lips.

"I don't suppose you can tell me what type of evidence?" He asked, not hoping for any answer from the beautiful detective. But Kate, after a moment's hesitation, tapped her index finger against the side of her cup. In the few short days he'd known her, he'd never seen her do anything so deliberately. "Fingerprints?" Rick asked, slowly, gathering that she was moving for his benefit.

Kate smiled, confirming it without really confirming it. He got her game, she couldn't tell him, but this way, she wasn't really telling him.

"You found the chief's fingerprints." He nodded. "On Buzz?"

Kate shook her head, putting down the glass and taking a deeper than necessary breath in through her nose.

"Somewhere on the breathing gear." He stated, it wasn't a question. He could read her like a book, especially when she was dictating it for him.

Kate swirled her straw with her finger.

"The O2 tube." He nodded. "Not all that unusual though. We've all touched everything at some point. If you were going off that alone, half the station would be in your lock-up."

Kate tilted her head, eating a few fries while he mulled that over.

"So there's gotta be more." Rick probed, watching her closely for the tiniest of movements.

Kate flicked her eyes to the ceiling, finding the camera she had spotted on her way in, cop habit, and let her eyes linger.

Rick followed her gaze. "You've got him on CCTV doing something." He paused to think. "It's gotta be big enough for you to consider it a lead, but not so big that it nails him, otherwise you wouldn't be so concerned about his confession." He thought aloud. "So, he couldn't have cut the line, or you'd have him dead to rights. But it has to be something. And it's gonna be hard to act out so you may be a bit stuck." He mentioned.

"How do you get your breathing gear Rick?" Kate asked quietly.

"We collect it from the gear room before we go out and put it back when we get back, we each pick up our own..." Rick's voice trailed off.

"Penny in the air." Kate murmured more to herself than him.

"Chief passed Buzz his pack." Rick gasped, clocking their eyes together in horror.

"Penny dropped."


End file.
